Unlocking Lies (Keys to Love Series, Book Three) by Kennedy Layne (27)

“You shouldn’t be here.”

Shae had heard the same line about fifty times in the last hour. Jace had every right to be concerned, given the massive headache that was currently throbbing against her temples, but she wouldn’t be anywhere else than right here at the lake where she truly believed Emma had been dumped like discarded garbage.

“As long as I have you and that cup of tea you’re about to hand me, I’m good.”

Two days had passed since Jace had found her drowning in the water near cabin nine. She’d had twenty-six stitches put into the back of her head, including having a special glue that sealed the cut on her cheek to lessen the scar that would be left behind. The plastic surgeon that the emergency staff had brought in the other night couldn’t understand why she wasn’t more concerned about the possibility of scarring, but Jace had been there to take care of everything.

He’d been more than supportive, and every kiss he gave her reminded her that she’d survived.

She made the choice to live in the present, not the past.

“You shouldn’t be so selfish.” The small smile and gentle kiss to her forehead told her that he was joking, though only half so. He would absolutely lock her away at home, if he thought he could get away with it. “I’ll get the drinks.”

Shae allowed Noah to help her sit on the tailgate of his truck, Brynn and Reese already in attendance. Their silence said everything they were thinking and feeling as they grimly watched the events unfold in front of them.

It was time Emma was finally laid to rest.

Detective Kendrick was currently overseeing numerous diving teams, not wanting to drag the entire lake if it wasn’t necessary. If what they believed to be true was in fact correct, there was more than one body weighted to the bottom of the lake. Preserving whatever evidence remained was crucial, not that much could survive in the water for twelve years. This had more to do with possibly of discovering Whitney among the bodies, who would have been one of the last known victims.

“…of them. From the looks of the crowds, downtown must have closed every shop.”

“…checked on Calvin? He…”

“…found the boat in the middle of the lake. It was just sitting there…”

“…Shae’s vehicle? Was it ever found or…”

Numerous conversations by various people in close proximity were talking with one another, going over the events of the past two days. Shae had been released from the hospital a few hours ago, but she’d had Jace stop by Calvin’s place on the drive up to the lake. He was no longer a suspect, considering that he’d been alongside members of the search party all evening. But he was still quite shaken to find out that his boat had been the one used to try and take her out to the deepest part of the water.

“Kendrick is having a forensics team go over the boat inch by inch. If there’s so much as a partial print, they’ll find it.”

Noah was deep in conversation with Lance about the fact that the authorities had located the boat on the north side of the lake. It had been anchored and abandoned, the assailant long gone.

“I ran into Mitch this morning,” Lance shared, taking one of the coffees that Jace had gotten out of the Range Rover. He was balancing two trays worth of coffees, a Coke for Brynn, and a hot tea for her. She gave him a reassuring smile when his gaze met hers. It didn’t seem to ease his concern. “They figured the son of a bitch swam to shore near the restaurant. He must have bided his time to walk out of the area on foot or he’s got a place on the lake.”

The information Lance was relaying wasn’t anything she hadn’t already known after speaking with Jace, who’d been in close contact with both Mitch and Detective Kendrick. Shae, in turn, had communicated everything to her parents. They had taken yesterday to make arrangements to come to Blyth Lake and were in the process of making the drive today. She’d assured them that she was fine, but as a psychiatrist—and more importantly, as a daughter—she believed it was in their best interest to be here when the lake was searched.

Shae hadn’t known at the time that Detective Kendrick was going about this investigation very carefully, using diving teams at certain depths of the lake that would be ideal to hide the bodies. It was downright creepy to know they’d been swimming in what was basically a graveyard for the past twelve years.

“Here you go, Doc.” Jace had finished dispersing all the drinks, leaving a coffee for him and a tea for her. He tossed the two to-go containers in the back of Noah’s truck, ignoring a sideways glance of irritation from his brother. His expression gave way to sympathy when his gaze landed on Shae. “Hey, don’t get your feathers ruffled. No one feels sorry for you. There isn’t a single person in this town that doesn’t admire how you held your own against that bastard.”

“You mean the state, and it might very well be the country, if the national news was anything to go by,” Gus interrupted, holding up a copy of a newspaper as he joined them overlooking one of the diving teams. He had a toothpick in between his lips and a ball cap to shade his eyes from the early afternoon sun. “Charlene Winston finally got her national headline, and it appears she was spot on in her reporting, even guessing the right amount of stitches you received.”

Shae wasn’t surprised at the length Charlene Winston had gone to in order to get her facts right, even going so far as to probably pay one of the hospital’s employees for Shae’s medical records. Jace, on the other hand, appeared ready to take matters into his own hands.

“What’s done is done,” Shae said softly, wishing the dull ache in the back of her head would dissipate at some point today. Her oversized sunglasses helped keep the sun out of her eyes, but it wasn’t nearly enough to take the edge off. “I’m not worried about reporters, journalists, or anyone else for that matter.”

“Is that your new sidekick?” Gus asked, purposefully keeping things light to keep her emotions in check. Honestly, Shae could cry one minute and want to laugh hysterically the next. She chalked it up to her head injury, and not the fact that today might be the day she would finally discover her sister’s resting place for the last twelve years. “I have a feeling this one will be glued to your side until this is all said and done.”

Shae didn’t bother to look over her shoulder, knowing full well it would cause her head to hurt even more than it did now. Gus was talking about the officer Detective Kendrick had assigned to her for the duration of this investigation. He’d pulled some strings and now had three shifts watching over her every eight hours. It was true this investigation was now getting national coverage, and the governor didn’t like being on the front page being shown in a bad light.

“They have the necessary credentials.” Jace leaned against the side of the tailgate where he was able to wrap his arm around her waist. “I had an old buddy of mine run a…”

“This will help, you know,” Reese said softly, drowning out the conversation between Jace and his father. She rested a hand on Shae’s knee in comfort. “I don’t know what I expected to find by coming here to Blyth Lake, but it certainly wasn’t my cousin’s body. A part of me wanted to believe so bad that Sophia did run off to California to live out her dreams, but the funeral we were able to give her left me with a peace I hadn’t experienced in eleven years.”

“I’m not so sure that I know how to feel any other way,” Shae shared reluctantly, still grateful to have found a new friend who could understand the toll of what today would bring. “Regardless, my parents deserve that peace you speak of. I can only hope that today is the day it’s delivered.”

The next hour passed by uneventful, with most every resident in Blyth Lake either congregating around the available shorelines or parking alongside the roads to get a glimpse of the search. The media crews had set up shop in the early morning hours and hadn’t budged from their positions, their cameras constantly rolling in case something or someone was brought up from the depths of the lake. There was even a helicopter or two that kept making passes, though they were careful not to get too close to prevent creating unnecessary waves in the water.

Shae was resting the side of her head against Jace’s shoulder when she finally realized he was holding something in his hand. She reached out, taking the small rectangular item from his loose grip. The burnt reddish hue told her exactly what it was that he’d brought with him today.

“I love it.” Shae ran a thumb over the rich color, liking it better than the routine red used for barns around these parts. She could easily picture Jace out front of the new stable, giving riding lessons to the younger generations. He’d even mentioned hiring on a few veterans in the area once he got the business up and running. “It will go beautifully against the white-washed corral paint you chose the other day. Of course, you’re going to need a hundred gallons or more to do all the fences covering all sixteen acres.”

“There’s a horse ranch around forty minutes from here that’s selling a couple of younger mares. I just need to find the right stud. Think you’ll feel up to taking a drive that far at the end of next week?”

Shae understood what Jace was really asking, and it had nothing to do with buying a horse. Facing death had a way of putting significant details of one’s life into perspective. She’d told him two nights ago that she wanted to stay here in Blyth Lake…with him. And she’d meant it from the bottom of her heart.

“I’ll go anywhere with you, Jace Kendall.” Shae was once again unable to control her emotions, though she made an attempt. She’d be glad when the concussion symptoms receded, because she was relatively certain this was worse than menopause. Then again, her mother might disagree. “I don’t know what the future holds for me in terms of my career. I might open my own practice or I may decide to stick with the hospitals closer to the city. I’ll be leaving my parents in Michigan, and I’m honestly not sure they’ll ever come back here to stay. But Blyth Lake is my home. You are my home. I’ve fallen in love with you, Jace, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than here with you.”

Shae had no doubt that everyone had heard her declaration, but they all understood this was a private conversation between she and Jace. He stepped in front of her, wedging his way in between her legs while blocking the sun. She didn’t stop him from lifting her sunglasses, allowing him to see the vulnerability, honestly, and hope shining in her eyes.

“I need you to know that I’d move anywhere you need me to in order to make this work.” Jace gently cupped her face, careful of the cut on her cheek. The warmth radiating from his touch was something she’d come to rely on, and he didn’t disappoint now. “Home is where you are, Shae. Nowhere else.”

“Your mother wanted you to raise your children here, and this is where Emma will be laid to rest when we find her.” Shae truly believed they were both meant to return to the hometown of their childhood. “Blyth Lake is where we belong.”

“Jace, Shae,” Gus warned after stepping closer, his attention somewhere in front of them. “Something’s happened.”

Jace shifted to the side so that Shae could see Mitch and Detective Kendrick walking side by side in unity to deliver some type of news…although it was already a given from their grim expressions. She laced her fingers with Jace and squeezed, her heart accelerating with the hope of finally finding what she’d come home for almost a month ago.

“First, your vehicle was dumped in the lake. The DNR has boats out there right now and they’ll recover the vehicle as soon as possible to prevent the petroleum products from contaminating the water. More important, the divers have so far counted fifteen bodies on the northeast end of the lake in the deepest part out about one hundred and fifteen feet down. I’ve called in the FBI, who will be here within the hour. They’ll bring in their own forensics team to retrieve the remains.” Detective Kendrick’s sympathetic gaze landed on Shae. “We won’t know the identities of all the bodies for the next few days, if not weeks. But I’ll make sure the special agent in charge has your phone number, Ms. Irwin.”

Shae nodded, though her throat constricted at the overwhelming news they’d finally discovered the victims who’d suffered unthinkable deaths. She’d had to swallow quite a few times before she was able to get her words out to thank both him and Mitch for seeing this investigation through to this point. Regardless that the FBI were being called in, she had no doubt that local and state authorities would be available day and night. After all, they all had a personal stake in bringing the person responsible to justice.

“Emma’s here,” Shae whispered, believing with all her heart that her sister would finally find peace in her final days of rest. She shared a heartwarming smile with Jace. “She is, and we need to bury her next to my grandparents.”

“We will, Doc,” Jace promised, pulling her closer and surrounding her with love. “We’ll bring your sister home, and we’ll find out who’s been using our town as a hunting ground. It’s high time this nightmare was brought to an end and the killer is forced to pay.”

~ The End ~

Thank you so much for reading Jace’s book in the Keys to Love series! Don’t forget to pre-order Gwen’s story—Unlocking Shadows—releasing in September 2018.

Chad Schaeffer had been hired on to help restore an old farmhouse for one of the returning Kendall siblings. He’d heard about the trouble the family had encountered and honestly didn’t want to go anywhere near their properties. He had a change of heart when he saw the most recently returned Kendall sibling stepping out of her car with a key in her hand.

Gwen had waited a very long time to have a place to call her own, just as she had waited for the right man to share her life. One night of seduction convinces her she’s found both, but someone wants to take it all away. It’s been said that old houses retain a piece of each person who has lived there, but she never counted on the dark shadows wanting a piece of her.